“Nothing like that can happen here because it is a safe place.”
What is “safe”?
A quick check of the registered sex offenders in a five-mile radius should immediately disabuse you of any notion that you are “safe”. Now, what about the unregistered ones? Now, what about the violent criminals and crazy people who will travel to where you live, work, or play because your area is full of easy targets?
Here are some things to consider:
- Safe is how you feel because you don’t perceive any threat.
- Threat perception is based on knowing how to identify a threat.
- Bad guys train to fool you.
Yep – go figure. Bad guys work to hone their craft and they practice being bad guys.
There are very few random instances of violence. There is no wrong place – wrong time. Bad guys study people to profile the easiest targets – both for opportunity and psycological advantage. They plan entrance and engress routes. They practice approaches and weapons that will quickly and easily get them the outcome they are looking for.
Safety vs. Security
You have to understand how a criminal thinks in order to find a level of security that allows you to avoid violence.
Let’s do a scenario – Your friend is walking through the mall or county fair checking the latest snaps on their phone – completely oblivious – you know the position I’m talking about. You walk right up to them before they even know you’re there. That’s called Inattention Blindness. It is a failure to recognize the possibility of any threat because they have done this 10,000 times with no consequences.
They are in a “safety” bubble. Their security system is turned off. Complete victim material.
Could you have knocked your friend across the head if you wanted to? Sure – but you’re nice. Is everyone nice?
Your friend (they know who they are) is walking around in LTC Jeff Cooper’s Condition White (Dramatic music) – Unaware. There are better conditions to be in at the mall or county fair than being completely blind to potential harm.
Let’s go over them all:
- Condition White – Unaware. Blissful ignorance. “Safe”
- Condition Yellow – Aware. Watching for problems
- Condition Orange – Possible Threat Identified. Focused.
- Condition Red – Ready for battle.
In the mall (or anywhere not your castle), you should be in Yellow. This is you all calm and confident because you are using ninja skills to profile possible threats:
- Watching how people are dressed (why a trench coat in July?)
- Watching hands – weapons, signals to others, etc.
- Looking for accomplices – usually a gun guy and a bag guy
- Checking for nearest exits, places offering cover
- Etc (we teach more things to look for in our courses)
Be Yellow – Aware.
Believe me, an aware person is not the kind of person that makes a good victim. Bad guys don’t want difficult victims – they’re looking for quick and easy rewards.
Popping your “safe” bubble and putting your head on a swivel makes you not look like an easy victim. And you can apply this mentality everywhere you go, even inside your car (car jackings?). Don’t get caught in inattention blindness. Don’t be a victim.
We can teach you a great deal more on this topic. Reach out and let us know if you’re interested in a course to help you avoid becoming a victim.
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